Canzler Minor League Player of the Week and Minor League Roundup

By Sean Tuttle

Russ Canzler was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 30th round of the 2004 amateur draft out of Hazleton High School in Hazleton, PA. He was granted free agency in November of 2010, and signed with the Tampa Bay Rays later that month. He was later purchased by the Indians on January 31, 2012.

Canzler was named to the Northwest League postseason All-Star Team in 2005 and given the MiLB.com Short-Season Round Tripper award after leading the league in homers, RBIs and doubles. He batted .342 (38-for-111) against lefties and .237 (51-for-215) against righties in 2008.

Canzler started the 2009 season with a 15-game hitting streak at Single-A Daytona and promoted to Double-A Tennessee on May 1st. He finished second in the Southern League with 21 HRs for Tennessee in 2010 while batting .287 (102-for-355) with 66 RBIs in 112 games played at third, first, right and left fields.

On September 11, 2011, Canzler made his major league debut as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. He saw action in three games and went 1-3 with a walk and a RBI. That same year he was named the International League MVP after hitting .314 average with 18 home runs and 83 RBI’s in 131 games.

This season he is batting .273 with nine home runs, 38 RBI’s, 23 walks, and 74 strikeouts. He was named the Indians minor league player of the week after going 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored, a walk, a 2B, HR and 2 RBI in yesterday’s game.

It appears that Canzler will have to wait for roster expansion in September to get called back up, barring any injuries to Jack Hannahan and Lonnie Chisenhall. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him used as trade material as the deadline closes. The Tribe appears to have two solid third baseman, a veteran in Hannahan and an apprentice in Chisenhall.

Minor League Round-Up

As of June 25th, the Columbus Clippers (AAA) are 38-40 overall, currently sit in second place, and are nine and a half games out of first. They are currently riding a three game winning streak. Infielder, Matt LaPorta, has hit safely in seven of his last nine games (.343 AVG, 12-35, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI). Right-handed pitcher, Frank Herrmann, earned his first save of the season on June 24. Herrmann’s first save since the 2010 season as a member of the Cleveland Indians, and his first save in the minors since April 2010 with Columbus. It was also his fifth career minor league save, all of which have come while with Columbus.

The Akron Aeros (AA) are 47-29 overall, currently sit in first place, and are eight and a half games ahead of second. Outfielder, Jeremy Tice, is 6-for-17 (.353 AVG.) in his first four games since being promoted to Akron from Carolina on June 22 with a home run and seven RBI. The Aeros are first in the Eastern League with a team ERA of 2.98 in 76 games. Designated hitter, Chun Chen, has hit safely in 27 of his last 29 games (.352 AVG., 37-105, 11 2B, HR, 15 RBI). Right-handed pitcher, Loek Van Mil, has not allowed a run in his last 13.1 innings (7 appearances), lowering his ERA from 2.31 to the current 1.08 mark. Infielder, Adam Abraham, has a seven game hitting streak (.462 AVG., 12-26, 5 2B, HR, 6 RBI).

The Carolina Mudcats (A) are 35-40 overall, currently sit in fourth place, and are twelve and a half games out of first. Infielder, Jesus Aguilar, was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game on July 8, he has hit safely in seven of his last eight games (.444 AVG., 12-27, 3 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI). Delvi Cid is tied for fourth in stolen bases with 17. Outfielder, Tyler Holt, is first in triples with six. Right-handed pitcher, Jose Flores, is third in saves 10. Outfielder, Anthony Gallas, has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games (.368 AVG., 14-38, 2 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI). Carolina has been held scoreless in their last 20 consecutive innings.

As of June 25th, the Lake County Captains (A) are 33-40 overall, currently sit in sixth place, and are 16 games out of first. Infielder, Francisco Lindor, was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game on July 8. He has hit safely in 10 of his last 13 games (.319 AVG., 15-47, 3 2B, 2 RBI). Catcher, Alex Lavisky, homered in two straight games for the first time this season and the second time in his career (4/16 & 4/17 of 2011 with Lake County), he has never homered in three straight. Outfielder, Luigi Rodriguez, is tied-fourth in the league in runs scored with 47.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers (A) are 2-6 overall, currently sit in sixth place, and are four games out of first. The Scrappers dropped their fifth consecutive game to the Williamsport Crosscutters by a score of 3-2 yesterday. Right-Handed pitcher, Luis DeJesus, (0-0, 0.82) tossed a quality start for Mahoning Valley, giving up just one run on three hits in six innings and striking out eight. The Crosscutters scored their only run on a solo home run off of DeJesus in the fifth inning. Right-handed pitcher, Cody Penny (0-1, 4.91) earned his first blown save and picked up the loss in 2.0 innings of relief…IF Jairo Kelly went 1-for-5 with a triple and run scored. OF Tyler Naquin finished one-for-four on the night.

The Arizona League Indians (Rookie) are 1-4 overall, currently sit tied for second place, and are three and a half games out of first. The Indians struggled to contain the Cubs offense in a 6-4 loss yesterday. Right-handed pitcher, Luis Morel, (0-1, 1.59) started and allowed one run on four hits and one walk in 4.2 innings. Right-handed pitcher, Alexis Paredes, (0-1, 3.38) earned the loss for the Indians, allowing four runs (two earned) in two innings. Infielder, Claudio Bautista, committed his first error of the season on an errant throw, leading to a big inning for the Cubs. Outfielder, Anthony Santander, went 2-for-5 with one run scored and two RBI’s. Catcher, Martin Cervenka, finished 2-for-5 with one double, one run scored, and one RBI.